Frühe Gesundheitsförderung und Prävention am Beginn des 20. und des 21. Jahrhunderts: Daten und Gedanken zum 100. Jahrestag der Eröffnung des Kaiserin Auguste Victoria Hauses zu Berlin

In June 1909, The Empress Auguste Victoria House in Berlin was opened. This first institute for preventive paediatrics had the objective to overcome infant mortality in Germany. This objective was attained. Since then, an unprecedented decrease of mortality in all age groups occurred as well as a doubling of life expectancy. With this retreat of death, our concepts of health changed fundamentally, and a new spectrum of diseases emerged. This article discusses some mile stones of this change, and explains why we find more illness despite the great improvement in the field of health. The new diseases amenable to early prevention are presented in a table. To make disease prevention successful requires the participation of the individual. Therefore, it is important to know the demand to make a good programme effective in the population. Empirical results of a nationwide representative study on the demand by expecting and young parents for preventive consultation are presented. Anticipatory guidance of young parents is a modern approach to health promotion and disease prevention. A controlled trial shows that this approach improved knowledge, behaviour, health risk indicators, health, and development during the first two years after delivery. Future studies should focus on long term effects of early health promotion.